There is enough debris currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures, the report notes. A recent near-miss of the International Space Station underscores the value in monitoring and tracking orbital debris as precisely as possible.

“The current space environment is growing increasingly hazardous to spacecraft and astronauts,” said Donald Kessler, chair of the committee that wrote the report and retired head of NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office. “NASA needs to determine the best path forward for tackling the multifaceted problems caused by meteoroids and orbital debris that put human and robotic space operations at risk.”

Comments (3)

Big blobs of aerogel in suitable orbits. Stuff would embed, and the high drag of the aerogel would bring it down rather quickly. Or tiny pressurized gas jets could lower it into atmospheric contact, which would rapidly de-orbit it.